Repeat Offender Still Owes MTA $18M
In May of 2009, I wrote an entry about an advertising company owing the MTA $7.5M. Flash forward to 2010 where a report in the New York Daily News exposes how the same company, Titan Outdoor Holdings (albeit under the name Titan Worldwide in 2009) now owes the cash strapped transit agency $18M. Pete Donohue of the New York Daily News has more in this report:
The MTA says it would need to find $18 million to avoid subway service cuts. Maybe it should look at its own ad company.
Titan Outdoor Holdings has stiffed the MTA out of about $18 million, coming in short with its monthly payments for nearly a year and engaging in some questionable accounting, an internal Metropolitan Transportation Authority audit revealed.
The MTA could recoup the money by cashing a multimillion-dollar letter of credit Titan posted. But officials fear the move would bankrupt the company – meaning even less ad revenue for the authority, according to the audit.
“We’re exploring all of our options,” MTA spokesman Jeremy Soffin said.
Titan sells and manages ad space in buses and commuter trains. To win the decade-long contract, Titan promised the MTA 72% of gross revenues – the highest in the industry – or $5.4million a month, whichever is greater.
Click here for the complete report.
As you can read in the report, the New York Daily News is quick to harp on how the amount owed would cover the projected subway service cuts that are planned for later this year. While on paper, it seems the easy solution would be to collect on the money & erase the planned cuts, they should be fair & explain that the situation is not that cut & dry.
While I feel this company should be punished for its failure to pay, the MTA has to balance the costs of potentially bankrupting this company along with its potential to score a more friendlier advertising deal. As far as cuts go, even if they received the $18M tomorrow, eliminating the service cuts due to this happening would be a band-aid solution. These are not the kind of solutions they need now & the New York Daily News & its readers need to understand that.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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MTA Plans Regular Service For Morning Rush
With the big winter storm winding down, & millions wondering how their morning rush hour commute will be, here is a heads up. Within the last 45 minutes, the MTA has announced it plans on running regular service tomorrow morning. Here is a quick press release I received a short time ago:
MTA Plans Regular Service for Tomorrow Morning’s Rush Hour
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced this evening that all MTA agencies planned to provide regular service for tomorrow morning’s rush hour and beyond. MTA agencies will continue to clean their infrastructure throughout the night and monitor it for possible icing conditions that could potentially have an impact on service in the morning. Customers are advised to continue checking back for the latest updates at MTA.info.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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MTA Evening Service Update
Sorry for not getting to this sooner but I was outside my house shoveling my driveway & street. Anyhow, while I was doing that, the MTA sent me a press release with their plans for service during the evening rush hour. Here are the details:
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced this afternoon that service for the evening rush hour would be normal or near normal on subways, most bus routes, and most bridges and tunnels.
The MTA is monitoring weather carefully and will keep customers updated via its website, and email and text message service alerts. The MTA intends to update the news media in time for 10 p.m. newscasts with information on tomorrow morning’s rush hour.
Changes to normal rush-hour service this evening are as follows:
BUSES: Limited-stop buses are making all local stops throughout the day. Service on some local and express buses may be impacted by the adverse roadway conditions. Bus customers are reminded to leave extra time for travel.
COMMUTER RAILROADS: To accommodate changes to normal weekday travel patterns, Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad are operating on special schedules and reduced evening rush hour service. Both railroads recorded about 40% reductions in inbound rush-hour travel, and offered increased afternoon service prior to 4 p.m. Customers should visit MTA.info to find details about the special schedules in effect today.
BRIDGES AND TUNNELS: Traffic is lighter than normal and moving well at all seven MTA bridges and both tunnels. 30-mile-per-hour winds at the Throgs Neck Bridge and the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge have triggered Phase I wind restrictions, which require customers to reduce speed. The lower level of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge is closed in both directions as a result of weather conditions but traffic is moving well on the upper level.
Customers are asked to avoid running to catch a train or a bus, to leave extra time for travel to and from stations and bus stops, and to take extra care when walking on platforms, stairs, escalators and sidewalks.
Stay safe out there during the storm. If you do not have to be outside, stay home!
xoxo Transit Blogger
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LIRR Winter Storm Plans
Within the last hour, the MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) has announced its plans for the upcoming winter storm. Their plans include running extra early afternoon trains, & reduced evening service. Here are the complete details:
The LIRR announced, today, its winter storm operating plan in anticipation of a significant snowstorm hitting Long Island starting early Wednesday morning, February 10. The plan provides extra, early-afternoon trains on Wednesday, reduced evening rush hour service, and , depending on snow accumulations, some temporary service suspensions for snow clearing and recovery operations.
Wednesday Early Afternoon, Feb. 10:
Since the storm will get underway prior to Wednesday morning’s rush hour and build throughout the day, the LIRR will operate extra, early-afternoon departures from Penn Station for those customers looking to leave work early due to the storm. This extra service includes 13 additional eastbound trains from Penn Station between 12:55 PM and 3:48 PM. Three of the extra trains would operate on the Port Jefferson Branch, six on the Babylon Branch, two on the Ronkonkoma Branch, one on the Port Washington Branch to Great Neck and one on the Far Rockaway Branch.
The extra, early-afternoon service is as follows:
Ronkonkoma Branch:
• 12:55 PM stopping at Woodside, Jamaica, Mineola, Hicksville, then all stops to Ronkonkoma
• 1:58 PM stopping at Woodside, Jamaica, Mineola, Hicksville, then all stops to Ronkonkoma
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Port Jefferson Branch to Hicksville and Huntington:
• 2:09 PM stopping at Jamaica, Carle Place, then all stops to Huntington
• 2:25 PM stopping at Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Jamaica, New Hyde Park, then all stops to Huntington
• 3:24 PM stopping at Jamaica, Mineola, Westbury and Hicksville
____
Babylon Branch:
• 1:30 PM express to Rockville Centre, then all stops to Babylon
• 1:53 PM stopping at Jamaica, Rockville Centre, then all stops to Babylon
• 2:12 PM express to Rockville Centre, then all stops to Babylon
• 2:22 PM express to Lynbrook, then all stops to Babylon
• 3:00 PM stopping at Jamaica, Rockville Centre, then all stops to Babylon
• 3:31 PM express to Rockville Centre, then all stops to Babylon
____
Port Washington Branch to Great Neck:
• 3:40 PM stopping Woodside, Flushing-Main St., then all stops to Great Neck
____
Far Rockaway Branch:
• 3:48 PM stopping at Jamaica, Locust Manor, Laurelton, Rosedale, Valley Stream, then all stops to Far Rockaway
____
Ronkonkoma-Greenport Service:
After the morning rush, train service between Ronkonkoma and Greenport will be replaced with buses.
_______________________________
Wednesday, Evening, Feb. 10:
While the LIRR will take all measures possible to keep train service operating throughout the system, to ensure customer and employee safety, the LIRR may temporarily suspend train service when snow accumulation reaches between 10 and 13 inches.
These temporary suspensions, while excess amounts of snow are removed from the track, will continue until safe and reliable service can be restored. In dealing with the storm, the LIRR will turn on its switch heaters, operate its antifreeze trains and its regular electric train cars with special scraper shoes to help reduce third rail icing.
We also use heavy-duty snow removal equipment – including our special cold-air track snow blowers and track snow brooms as well as snow jets for yards. Extra LIRR personnel will be deployed throughout the railroad to assist in keeping the system up and running and helping keep customers informed of service adjustments.
During Wednesday’s evening rush hour, service reductions will be implemented through canceling and combing 22 eastbound trains – 17 out of Penn Station and 5 out of Atlantic Terminal.
The following trains from Penn Station will be canceled/combined:
• The 3:34 PM train from New York due Wantagh at 4:29 PM will be canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 3:46 PM from New York to Babylon.
• The 4:22 PM train from New York due Port Washington at 4:58 PM will be canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 4:25 PM from New York that normally ends in Great neck but will continue to Port Washington.
• The 4:34 PM train from New York due Babylon 5:39 PM will be canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 4:37 PM from New York that normally ends in Wantagh but will continue to Babylon.
• The 4:43 PM train from New York due Port Washington at 5:21 PM will be canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 4:46 PM from New York that normally ends in Great Neck but will continue to Port Washington.
• The 4:57 PM train from New York due Wantagh 5:42 PM will be canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 5:03 PM from New York that normally ends in Freeport but will continue to Wantagh.
• The 5:11 PM train from New York due Port Washington 5:47 PM will be canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 5:14 PM from New York that normally ends in Great Neck but will continue to Port Washington.
• The 5:20 PM train from New York due Long Beach at 6:11 PM will be canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 5:26 PM from New York to Long Beach with a stop at Jamaica.
• The 5:19 PM train from New York due Wantagh 6:06 PM will be canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 5:24 PM from New York that normally ends in Freeport but will continue to Wantagh.
• The 5:26 PM train from New York due Port Washington 6:04 PM will be canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 5:29 PM from New York that normally ends in Great Neck but will continue to Port Washington.
• The 5:50 PM train from New York due Great Neck at 6:19 PM will be canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 5:56 PM from New York to Great Neck.
• The 5:40 PM train from New York due Seaford 6:30 PM will be canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 5:47 PM from New York that normally ends in Freeport but will continue to Seaford.
• The 6:05 PM train from New York due Wantagh 6:51 PM will be canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 6:10 PM from New York that normally ends in Freeport but will continue to Wantagh.
• The 6:11 PM train from New York due Port Washington 6:48 PM will be canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 6:14 PM from New York that normally ends in Great Neck, but will continue to Port Washington.
• The 6:33 PM train from New York due Babylon 7:35 PM will be canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 6:36 PM from New York that normally ends in Wantagh but will continue to Babylon.
• The 6:24 PM train from New York due Port Washington at 7:04 PM will be canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 6:42 PM from New York that normally ends in Great Neck but will continue to Port Washington.
• The 7:01 PM train from New York due Port Washington at 7:36 PM will be canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 7:14 PM from New York that normally ends in Great Neck but will continue to Port Washington.
• The 6:30 PM train from New York due Huntington at 7:35 PM will be canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 6:35 PM from New York that normally ends in Hicksville but will continue to Huntington.
____
The following trains from Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn will be canceled/combined:
• The 4:39 PM from Flatbush Avenue due Babylon 5:52 PM will be canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 4:57 PM from Flatbush Avenue to Babylon at 6:10 PM.
• The 4:31 PM from Flatbush Avenue due Far Rockaway 5:26 PM will be canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 4:35 PM from Flatbush Avenue where they can change at Jamaica for another train to Far Rockaway.
• The 5:19 PM from Flatbush Avenue due Hempstead 6:09 PM will be canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 5:24 PM from Flatbush Avenue and change at Jamaica for a train to Hempstead.
• The 5:40 PM from Flatbush Avenue due Long Beach 6:32 PM will be canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 5:46 PM from Flatbush Avenue and change at Jamaica for a Long Beach train.
• The 5:29 PM from Flatbush Avenue due Huntington 6:28 PM will be canceled. Customers will be accommodated by the 5:36 PM from Flatbush Avenue and transfer at Jamaica for a train to Huntington.
_______________________________
Wednesday – Post Rush and Overnight, Feb. 10:
The LIRR will be using temporary service suspensions for track clearing throughout the evening on Wednesday and overnight into Thursday. The LIRR expects to operate a modified train service on its primary branches after the evening rush hour and through the overnight for customers and LIRR employees.
_______________________________
Thursday – Morning Rush, Feb. 11:
During the morning rush hour on Thursday, the LIRR’s goal is to provide train service at regular intervals on our primary branches – Babylon, Ronkonkoma, Huntington, and Port Washington – to and from Penn Station; and train service between Jamaica and Atlantic Terminal.
_______________________________
Thursday – Evening Rush, Feb. 11:
LIRR employees will be working as hard as possible to clear tracks of snow and restore service on the secondary branches, as part of the second stage of snow clearing, with the goal of providing regular interval service for the evening rush hour.
All throughout the storm, customers are advised to check on LIRR service before heading to train stations by monitoring the LIRR’s website, listening to the latest news broadcast and/or signing up for our free E-Alerts at www.mta.info/lirr.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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NYCT Winter Weather Subway Service Changes
With a major storm preparing to hit our region, every department of the MTA is putting storm plans into action. New York City Transit issued a press release within the last hour with details on subway service changes during the storm:
Due to the forecast of a brutal winter storm beginning this evening, some MTA New York City subway lines will not operate normally or according to the printed schedule. To help inform customers, MTA New York City Transit has created an informative poster to alert riders of what to expect.
Heavy snow, ice and freezing rain require that out-of-service trains be stored in subway tunnels rather than be left sitting in outside yards. This insures that trains will be ready for tomorrow morning’s rush hour service and that car interiors will maintain a comfortable temperature.
Of course, we will try to maintain as much train service as possible, but during instances of severe winter weather, the following changes will most likely be in effect:
• A, E, D, F, N, Q, 2, 3, 4, 5 trains may run local for portions of their route.
• The B, V, W will end service earlier than normal; customers can take the D/Q/F or N instead.
• 42nd St. S shuttle runs all night.
• Rockaway Park S shuttle extends to Euclid Av
• G service between Court Sq and 71-Continental Aves. will be suspended.
• All 6 service in the Bronx may be local
These service adjustments are explained on NYC Transit’s Cold Weather service posters, which are installed in subway stations and cars throughout the system.
In addition, all scheduled over-night maintenance, repair and upgrade projects have been cancelled, as have any changes to normal subway service. Of course, subway customers should allow for additional travel times whenever there is inclement weather. Service Status alerts are posted on the MTA home page at www.mta.info.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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